Specialty Food: Let African Foods and Flavors Spice Up the Thanksgiving Holiday

Image courtesy of sacremento.com

The article was contributed by Portia Formento, a U.S. food critic based in New York City.

America’s “first Thanksgiving” occurred in 1621. Legend has it that the pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts shared a three day harvest festival with Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribe.

It’s been almost 400 years since then, and Thanksgiving has seen a lot of changes. Originally a time to give thanks and celebrate the harvest, modern Thanksgiving has morphed into a celebration of family amidst an orgy of food. But many of the foods that grace today’s Thanksgiving table were not part of 1621’s celebration, and have since become part of our holiday tradition through immigration and the integration of foreign cultures into our own.

For example, cranberry sauce wasn’t a possibility until sugar became readily available from the Caribbean and South America. And sweet potatoes didn’t become popular until African slaves recognized them as similar to their native yams (a completely different vegetable species) and approached them with a confidence and skill that early colonial Americans had been unable to apply to the potato.

At its heart, though, Thanksgiving is still a time for appreciation and being thankful for all that we have, in the company of people we love. And it is this universally uniting aspect of Thanksgiving that opens this holiday menu up to such great diversity. Asian- and Indian-inspired Thanksgiving menus appear in magazines and restaurants across America, so why not break out of your every-year-is-the-same-menu rut with a meal influenced by the flavors and textures of Africa!

If you want to start small, wine is a great place to begin. South African wines have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with syrahs finally getting their turn in the Thanksgiving-wine spotlight, look for excellent selections from South Africa such as Vergelegen, Boekenhoutskloof, and The Foundry. For delicious, Fair Trade certified and/or organic wine consider trying Stellar or Koopmanskloof Wineries.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, but refuse to give up your turkey (a decidedly non-African bird), ditch the thyme and sage and rub it down with Moroccan spices, instead. Mix softened butter together with equal parts ground coriander, cumin, chile powder, and brown sugar; add a bit of kosher salt and some cinnamon, and rub all over the inside and outside of your turkey. This is especially good with the turkey’s dark meat, so make sure you reach beyond the white breast meat.

And if you’re tired of the same old Butterball turkey and Stouffer’s stuffing, try changing the menu entirely. Go ahead and start your meal with soup, but forget about fish chowders and pumpkin bisques – go for a West African peanut soup, full of ginger, chilies, sweet potatoes, and kale. And don’t bother with one of those prized Bourbon Red heritage turkeys. After all, the colonists at the “first Thanksgiving” didn’t even have turkey; historical accounts point to a dinner of “five Deere which [the Wampanoag] brought”. Try paying homage to both cultures with a main dish of goat tagine, with apricots, olives, and almonds.

Whatever approach you take for Thanksgiving this year, you’ll be keeping with tradition so long as you surround yourself with friends and family – and remember to give thanks.